


Sleepovers in my Head

by justanerdthing



Category: The Get Down (TV)
Genre: Character Study?, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Maybe a lil ooc, Sharing a Bed, Unrequited Crush, a lil angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 08:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13185804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanerdthing/pseuds/justanerdthing
Summary: Set in the second half of season 1 a little after Zeke started staying with Shao. The ceiling of Zeke's room leaked and ruined his bed. Shao offers his room to Zeke.





	Sleepovers in my Head

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so this is my first time posting on Ao3 and the first time writing fic in like 6 years so I am a little bit out of the game here. Also the title was inspired by the song Sleepovers by Hayley Kiyoko which is a fantastic song and music video, so if you haven't heard it I definitely suggest giving it a quick listen. Please enjoy!

Zeke watched as the water from the ceiling dripped onto the mattress that sat on the floor. He bumped it with his shoe and heard the squish of water that had soaked into the cushion. With a sigh, he heads back down into the temple.  
                                                                                                                                ***  
Shao is spinning records when he looks up to see Zeke walk through the doors headed his way dressed in sweats and a plain white crew neck t-shirt.  
“Hey man I thought you was goin to sleep?”  
“Rain leaked through the ceiling-” Zeke takes a puff of the joint Shao offers, “Wasn’t feeling the waterbed vibe.”  
“Damn it! I knew we shouldn’t have trusted that Irish fuck at the hardware store. That bitch sold us faulty equipment!”  
They had gone there to get supplies to fix Zeke’s ceiling. Shao got into a fight with the man working the store when he said Shao had to leave for being too rowdy. If Zeke hadn’t been there with him, Shao would’ve knocked that Irish prick. Thinking back on it he should've done it anyways.  
Shao notices that Zeke is looking at him with a dumb smile on his face. “Is there something you find funny?”  
Zeke turns and scratches the back of his neck, mumbling, “Could’ve just been that you don’t know shit about repairing a ceiling.”  
Before Shao can retort that Zeke had been the one asking him all the questions while they working, Zeke says, “Anyway, you got anywhere else I can stay in the meantime?”  
Shao pauses giving it some thought, “uhh shit man, Napolean’s got the only other room with a bed here but…You could take my bed.” He quickly adds, “I can sleep on the couch.” Shao looked down at the record, avoiding Zeke’s perceptive eyes. Why the fuck do I feel so nervous?  
When he does look up for a quick glance Zeke looks slightly surprise eyebrows stretched wider than usual but he fixes his expression before saying, “Nah man, I can’t kick you out of ya’own bed. You're already letting me stay here rent free. I can take the couch.”  
Shao should let it drop, but for some reason he opens his big mouth again, “Don’t ya have that big internship job thing in the morning? You need the sleep more than I do, I was gonna play some more records anyways.”  
Zeke scrunched up his eyebrows, “I uh...didn’t realize you cared about my internship so much.” Though his words were accusatory he smiled as he said it. “I’ll take the bed then.” Zeke paused, “Ya know we could just share the bed?”  
Shao feels the urge to make a comment about Zeke sounding gay, but stops. Shao looks back at his records running his hands through different ones pretending to read the titles, “Yeah, guess that sounds ight.”  
After finishing the joint and finding a few beats that Shao and Zeke both agreed would work for their next show Zeke heads off to Shao’s room to get some rest.  
Shao fights the urge to follow him. Things always felt so easy when he was with Zeke. Easier to smile, easier to feel free, easier to trust. He wanted to chase that feeling any chance he could get.  
Shao didn’t want to seem clingy so he played a few more records listening for the get down. He wondered what rhymes his wordsmith would come up with. The poetry that slips so easily from his mind.  
Will the pillow smell like Zeke the next time he lies down? Shao shakes his head to rid the thought from his mind. Man, that’s starting to sound like some gay shit.  
Shao does his best to enter the room quietly so he doesn’t wake Books. But knows his effort was useless when a sleepy voice breaks the rooms silence, “Shao man, that you?”  
“uh yeah,” shao fought the urge to leave, “thought I’d crash in here for a bit.”  
Zeke scoots over to the right side of the bed to make room for him. His skin feels alive with electricity as he pulls the scratchy blanket up to his chest lying as still as possible to slow the drums that pounded against his ribcage, praying Books won’t notice. How would Zeke not notice, when it felt all too loud to Shao.  
“Night Books”  
“Night Shaolin Fantastic,” Zeke said faintly, as though he was already half asleep.  
Shao closed his eyes hoping sleep would come. Maybe when he woke up these feelings would go away. It was bullshit and he knew it. It wasn’t the first time he had felt it, but lying down next to his Books the desires he had shoved down never felt as strong as they did now.  
There was that light feeling in his stomach, not like butterflies or any of that dumb shit. It made him feel weightless like flying. No not flying. Flying implies freedom and a sense of peace. No, Shao felt trapped and anxious. The kind of weightless like when you jump so high it could be mistaken for flying when it feels like nothing can touch you, but there’s a crashing low in your gut that told you no matter how high you get you have to come down. He thinks of the time he had jumped across the rooftop and dropped the Pakoussa record just before he saw Zeke for the first time. With Zeke he had no idea when the fall would come, but it will.  
His thoughts crept back to the moment he first saw Zeke. He remembered how angry he had been then. That skinny ass string bean stealing his record for some chick that would’ve been screwing Cadilliac if he hadn’t let him into Les Inferno’s in time.  
He turned on his side to face Zeke. In the moonlight he could see Zeke’s eyes were closed and his slow rhythmic breathing made Shao certain Zeke was sleeping. He took the opportunity to really look at him. Zeke was turned on his side, one hand beneath the pillow and the other gripped the blanket in front of his chest. Feeling half mad Shao gently reached out a hand to touch his face, fingertips just grazing his cheek.  
For a wild moment he imagined what it would feel like to lean the short distance and press his lips against Zeke’s. He imagined Zeke opening his eyes sleepy and confused, but when the realization that Shao had kissed him sank in, his lips would turn into a small smile before leaning in for another kiss. He’d might even push Shao onto his back and climb on top of him. Kissing in between mutterings of “wanted to do this for so long” and “shouldn’t have wasted my time with her” with his knee placed in between Shao’s legs. Shao would wrap both of his hands behind Zeke’s neck and pull him down when he started talking too much.  
Shao closed his eyes and shook his thoughts away. His hand recoiled from Zeke as though it had burned.  
But that’ll never happen, Shao thought bitterly.  
Though Zeke was a mere foot away, but Shao felt he might as well be a thousand feet away. He was the conductor and Books his wordsmith. Zeke would call him his friend, his brother but it would never be more than that. He had told him that they would be kings, that they would rule this city. Zeke has his queen, so what would he want with a king?

**Author's Note:**

> If there's any errors lemme know and I'll fix it.


End file.
